New Home Prices in Vancouver Drop for Second Consecutive Month: StatCan

New Home Prices in Vancouver Drop for Second Consecutive Month: StatCan

Christina Newberry

February 12, 2015

While the price of resale homes continues to increase, the price of a new home in Vancouver fell for the second month in a row in December 2014, dropping 0.1 per cent month over month, according to Statistics Canada figures released February 12. This follows a 0.2 per cent month-over-month decrease in November. Again, the decrease in value is entirely attributable to a drop in home prices, with land values remaining unchanged, as builders reported lower negotiated prices for new homes.

The New House Pricing Index also saw a year-over-year decline across BC, with drops of 1.1 per cent in Victoria and 0.6 per cent in Vancouver over the same month in 2013. The two BC cities are among only seven cities tracked by Statistics Canada to post an annual decline.

Nationwide, the cost of a new home increased 1.7 per cent year over year to December, an increase identical to that posted the previous month.

Calgary again had the largest annual increase in new home prices, which rose 6.5 per cent year over year, just as they did in November.

The index tracks the price of new single-family detached homes, townhouses and duplexes, but does not factor in new condo selling prices.

Christina Newberry is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who writes lifestyle and travel stories for publications both online and in print. When she's not travelling, Christina can be found exploring Vancouver's unique neighbourhoods or puttering in her community garden plot.